Timing Meter Availability

[Greg5OH]

At one point I will be investing in my own meter as I plan on tinkering and turboing the truck soon.
Day 2 of driving with timing from 5.5 which it started to 9.8 which gary recomended. This is still on an older pump and injectors.

Im loving the truck again. I have to turn down the idle as its sitting at 1000 rpm now.
Its a pleasure to drive in town. Have to barely give it any pedal, every gear has teh same grunt down low. Before when doing 2-3, or 3-4 I felt I had to give it some more pedal to maintain same rate of acceleration.
Also has an aweseom crack to it when downshifting. Blip the throttle quick and it responds with a pleasant rattle.

Sounds great running down the road too, rattel rattle rattle. I havent had a chance to do much economy testign yet, but i did a 100 mile road trip the second after timing it. Mileage seemed the same, but again-easier to drive. I may have been giving it more fuel then necessary she hazes a bit now.

My pump was installed line to line, reading 5.5 btdc injection.

Best $70 i spent on the truck so far.

 

[whiteboyslo]

Another satisfied Gary customer here. Despite the low miles on mine, I figured it was worth the money to check it 'just for peace of mind'. Well, good thing I did, because mine had retarded to about 4 degrees BTDC. I conservatively set it at 8 degrees BTDC, and it's a completely different beast. Unfortunately, my fat fingers managed to bust the throttle cable while doing the work so I had to send the meter back before I could drive it and see if there was more to be had from 'fine tuning', but given the vast difference between what it was before and what it is now, I'm not too worried.

Like Gary said, if your truck sounds more like a gasser with just a little rattle, you're probably way off on your timing like mine was. Being new to diesels in general and IDIs specifically, I had no idea what these things were supposed to sound like when dialed in. Heck, the first time I fired it up after setting the timing, I thought something was broken, lol! But she drives so much better now. There's more power everywhere, and she doesn't fall off near the governor like she used to.

Mike

 

[icanfixall]

Thanks for the positive comments guys. I really hope everyone can time their rigs so they realize the full potencial of what they have. An engine with the timing unknown is like dragging an anchor behind them and not realizing it. But once you know its the differance between nite and day... Or boys and girls. Correct timing wakes up the sleeping giant these engines can be.

 

[gatorman21218]

Another satisfied Gary customer here. Despite the low miles on mine, I figured it was worth the money to check it 'just for peace of mind'. Well, good thing I did, because mine had retarded to about 4 degrees BTDC. I conservatively set it at 8 degrees BTDC, and it's a completely different beast. Unfortunately, my fat fingers managed to bust the throttle cable while doing the work so I had to send the meter back before I could drive it and see if there was more to be had from 'fine tuning', but given the vast difference between what it was before and what it is now, I'm not too worried.

Like Gary said, if your truck sounds more like a gasser with just a little rattle, you're probably way off on your timing like mine was. Being new to diesels in general and IDIs specifically, I had no idea what these things were supposed to sound like when dialed in. Heck, the first time I fired it up after setting the timing, I thought something was broken, lol! But she drives so much better now. There's more power everywhere, and she doesn't fall off near the governor like she used to.

Mike

If you like the sound at 9 degrees, then you would love the sound at 20 degrees! HAHA I dont recommend it though. Eats up glow plugs.